Monday, May 22, 2017

FISHERMAN'S SON BY JOHN R. SIKES

Jason had just started dreaming about cruising in his new
Mustang car he was going to buy when he was thrown from his bunk and landed
hard against the bulkhead. At first he didn’t know what had happened.
Billy Bob stumbled out of his room, holding his survival suit and told Jason to
get his and come to the wheelhouse.

The ocean was nothing like Jason had ever seen. Waves were
hitting the Wave Dancer, sending a
groaning shutter from the bow right through to the stern. This worried Jason
till Billy Bob and Uncle Buick both agreed as long as you heard and felt it,
everything was ok; it was when the boat quit talking to you that you should get
worried.

The boat was lifted high by waves, which had grown enormous
in the short time Jason had slept. When the boat crested the taller of the
waves, Jason had his first glance of the mainland. It looked like the water was
boiling closer to shore. Uncle Buck told him this was because the currents next
to the shore met ones coming from the open ocean causing the waves to become
closer together and much bigger. Jason noticed that all of the sea gulls were
flying way higher than usual. There appeared to be thousands of them flying in
a circle so high they looked like tiny dots in the sky.

The first wave braking completely over the boat caught him
off guard. It sent him bouncing all the way to the other side of the
wheelhouse. When he stood up, he noticed some of the smaller fish not tied down
had washed over the stern. He started to go try and save the ones still
flopping around the deck but was told by his uncle to stay put.

“We can handle losing a few
fish but your mom would be awful mad at me if I didn’t have
you onboard when we make it back!” exclaimed Uncle Buck. “Just
hang on to the boat with one hand and keep you're survival suit in the other.
If I give the order to abandon ship and you say, "What?" You will be
talking to yourself.”

It eased some of the fear building in Jason when he saw the
look on his uncle’s face. To him Uncle Buck looked as calm as if he was taking
a walk in the park. Uncle Buck had spent most of his life on the water and
seemed right at home even when it was rough. He had even heard his uncle talk
about never getting seasick but not feeling so good when he was on land. Even
Jason admitted he slept better on the water than he did at home.

Night was falling as they approached shore. Waves seemed to
come from all directions. The Wave Dancer
was still cutting through the ones they were hitting head on, but waves
smashing in from the sides of the boat were keeping the deck awash with foamy
seawater.

The entire crew jumped when the gang way was ripped off the
boat's railing. Cables that made up the rail sounded like rifle shots as they
snapped from pressure of the water. Pieces of splintered wood still attached to
the cable were banging the side of the ship like sticks on a drum. In a matter
of minutes windows on the starboard side were shattered and seawater was
flooding in. Captain Buck started shouting orders.

“Ivan, check and make sure all
bilge pumps are running. Billy Bob and Jason, get to repairing the broken
windows. You can use your bunk mattresses and lumber in the emergency locker.
Try to stop any water coming onboard through those windows.”

Ivan disappeared down to the engine room and Jason and Billy
Bob attacked the flood of water coming in each time the Wave Dancer was broadsided by cresting waves. Luckily the panes of
the window were made of safety glass. Jason was thankful that sharp shards of
glass weren’t sloshing around in the stream of water flooding in. Water
was gushing down through the walkway into the engine room at an alarming rate.
Shoving his mattress against the biggest hole took all the effort Jason could
muster. Billy Bob slammed a brace against its back and wedged it to the floor.

“Take a hammer and nail the
bottom of the brace to the floor. We will jam one on both ends to hold it in
place,” Billy Bob shouted to Jason over the roar of the water.

They repeated this process till all bigger windows were
plugged. With the wooden plugs they found in the locker they were able to stop
some smaller leaks caused by the whipping pieces of gangway. Thankfully most
cables had tangled up with rigging still attached to the ship lessening their
destructive force. By the time they had slowed most of the water flooding
inside, the feel of the Wave Dancer
had changed. She had settled deeper in the water and now blue water was
crashing completely over the boat.